Sacramento Bee Features Mercy General’s New Garden of Healing

The Alex G. Spanos Heart & Vascular Center opened to patients on Monday, April 14. Prior to the opening, The Sacramento Bee Home and Garden Reporter Debbie Arrington and a photographer visited the center's new healing garden.

Designed to promote healing and comfort through the natural world, the garden features plants such as sweetly scented gardenias around its perimeter to comfort with fresh aromas. Playful succulents and reeds were planted to sooth with contrasting textures and movements. The garden is anchored with colorful and flowering trees, which will bring shade and seasonal beauty. The garden also features a gently meandering creek that runs the length of the garden. The creek features soft bubbling channels and calming pools designed to deliver relaxation and harmony through the sounds and rhythms of water.

During her visit, Debbie Arrington interviewed Doris Frazier, vice president of cardiovascular services at Mercy General Hospital, about how gardens can have a calming effect on humans. She also interviewed Jennifer E. Styduhar, landscape architect for The HLA Group, who designed the garden.

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